Disembarking in St Petersburg

[Hawktut]

We are stopping in St Petersburg this summer and while I understand we must have a scheduled tour in order to disembark I am wondering if we must have an authorized tour every time we leave the ship? In other words, if we return to the ship after a morning of touring will we be allowed off again later that day or the next day without having to schedule additional tours?

We have friends in St Petersburg with whom we wish to spend time. They have advised us to book the shortest tours we can find so that we can spend our remaining time with them. Do we need to have a tour booked each time we leave the ship or are we free to come and go once we receive the initial clearance? Thanks for any advice!

[LHT28]

you could just get your own VISA then you will be free to come & go as you choose

[dogs4fun]

Do we need to have a tour booked each time we leave the ship or are we free to come and go once we receive the initial clearance? Thanks for any advice!

Yes. You must have a Russian visa if you wish to get around on your own at any time during your stay. I recommend that you secure a visa OR book a free content tour with someone.

[fabnfortysomething]

We are stopping in St Petersburg this summer and while I understand we must have a scheduled tour in order to disembark I am wondering if we must have an authorized tour every time we leave the ship? In other words, if we return to the ship after a morning of touring will we be allowed off again later that day or the next day without having to schedule additional tours?

We have friends in St Petersburg with whom we wish to spend time. They have advised us to book the shortest tours we can find so that we can spend our remaining time with them. Do we need to have a tour booked each time we leave the ship or are we free to come and go once we receive the initial clearance? Thanks for any advice!

 

if you book the shortest tours you wont be able to spend additional time with your friends as the tour guide is responsible for you and will deliver you back to ship at end of that tour

you cant come and go with the visa waiver supplied by tour company

 

In this case you would need to get a personal visa if you want to spend time with your friends

[John Bull]

Without a visa you will need to present a suitably-timed tour ticket at immigration whenever you leave the ship.

That means you can't present a morning ticket to get through immigration later pm or for the evening.

Or present a Day1 tour ticket to get through on Day 2.

 

Some ships (no independent tour operators that I know of) offer a ST P on-your-own tour. They take you to the city centre, leave you to your own devices for a few hours, then you meet back up & you're transported back to the ship.

I have no idea how the cruise line gets away with that within the rules, but several CC members report having done that.

If your ship offers that "tour", its probably your best bet.

But don't even think of just disappearing from a tour group - the tour operator will be put to serious grief, as indeed you are likely to be on your return to the ship.

 

JB :)

[rslinky]

As John Bull says, the tour tickets which will allow you to leave the ship have start and end times for each day.

[kitkat343]

Our private tour ticket had all times listed, so if travelers decided to add a night excursion at the last minute and would be allowed off the ship. If your tour ticket lists all times, the custom agents will let you through at all times. The official rule is that you must be with a tour guide at all times, so if you run into any difficulties (such as a pickpocket, and do bear in mind you will have your passports with you) it will be a very difficult situation for you. The independent visa or an excursion in which you are given free time (which I'm not aware of but was mentioned above) would be your only legal means of visiting your friends.

[Coral]

Where is the OP from?

 

Not all countries require a Russian Visa or be on an excursion to be in Russia.

 

OK - I looked at the OP other posts and it appears they are from Iowa. They do need their own Visa. The other option is to book a private tour and invite the friends to participate in the private tour with the cooperation of the tour agency and paying their own way.

[soccermom1970]

Just got off the NCL Breakaway. You will need to show your tour ticket or visa each time you get off the boat. Our guide with TJ barely left our side for the bathrooms. They are NOT allowed to leave you. Funny that they have been told it’s the same in the US! Can you just imagine?

[Coral]

Just got off the NCL Breakaway. You will need to show your tour ticket or visa each time you get off the boat. Our guide with TJ barely left our side for the bathrooms. They are NOT allowed to leave you. Funny that they have been told it’s the same in the US! Can you just imagine?

 

That is because in the US, we make them get a full visa. If you had gotten a full visa, you would have been able to walk freely.

 

I don't think we have an equivalent visa waiver for Russians getting off cruise ships to visit ports in the US.

[EggyB]

Hello!

 

Regarding the option of travelling independently with own Visa - our cruise line is telling us that each time we embark and disembark from the ship, this will be considered a separate crossing of the Russian border - thus, we will need a multi-entry Visa if we want to be able to leave the ship each day (we are in port for three days). We are Canadian and therefore only have the double-entry Visa available to us, so we would have to either stay on the ship one of the days or book a private tour for one of the days if we wanted to be able to leave the ship.

 

Can anyone who has recently travelled to St. Petersburg and disembarked using their own Visa confirm that this is the case? I.e. that each time you leave the ship is considered a new entry into the country?

 

Thank you for any assistance!

[dogs4fun]

Hello!

 

Regarding the option of travelling independently with own Visa - our cruise line is telling us that each time we embark and disembark from the ship, this will be considered a separate crossing of the Russian border - thus, we will need a multi-entry Visa if we want to be able to leave the ship each day (we are in port for three days). We are Canadian and therefore only have the double-entry Visa available to us, so we would have to either stay on the ship one of the days or book a private tour for one of the days if we wanted to be able to leave the ship.

 

Can anyone who has recently travelled to St. Petersburg and disembarked using their own Visa confirm that this is the case? I.e. that each time you leave the ship is considered a new entry into the country?

 

Thank you for any assistance!

Yes, each time you leave the ship and go through immigration it counts as one border crossing. You would need a multi-entry visa if your ship is in port for 3 days.

However, there is a solution...

Simply book a hotel for one of the nights (1st or 2nd) in St. Petersburg and do not return to your ship. Thus, you would have only 2 border crossings. Perfectly legal - just inform your ship that you are staying in the city on the night that you choose.

You would have the added benefit of experiencing some of the local evening life - have dinner in a restaurant, visit a pub, etc.

[Danish viking]

Its probably cheaper to buy a random ticket for the World Cup and get a Fan ID instead compared to a regular visa.

 

But that requires you to be in Russia this summer.

[Coral]

Its probably cheaper to buy a random ticket for the World Cup and get a Fan ID instead compared to a regular visa.

 

But that requires you to be in Russia this summer.

 

They have been sold out for quite awhile.

[EggyB]

Thank you for the info! Much appreciated to have that confirmation; while it's not what I was hoping to hear, it's definitely good to know for planning ahead.

 

 

I wondered about getting a hotel or air bnb, but my husband didn't seem too keen on the idea of sleeping off of the ship - I will try again to persuade him! :)

 

 

Worst case scenario, I guess we might stay on the ship and relax on the third day when there are supposed to be >12000 passengers in port - we figure we will have to return to Russia someday anyways to see Moscow, etc., so we will get another chance to see SPB.

 

 

 

Thanks again

[nnn]

They have been sold out for quite awhile.

 

There are plenty of tickets available from FIFA now (if you just want a random game for a FAN ID).

[dogs4fun]

Thank you for the info! Much appreciated to have that confirmation; while it's not what I was hoping to hear, it's definitely good to know for planning ahead.

 

 

I wondered about getting a hotel or air bnb, but my husband didn't seem too keen on the idea of sleeping off of the ship - I will try again to persuade him! :)

 

 

Worst case scenario, I guess we might stay on the ship and relax on the third day when there are supposed to be >12000 passengers in port - we figure we will have to return to Russia someday anyways to see Moscow, etc., so we will get another chance to see SPB.

 

 

 

Thanks again

I've stayed in hotels in both St. Petersburg and Moscow - both are perfectly safe and the prices are more reasonable than in other European cities. Look for something that includes breakfast in the city center (check Booking dot com, Hotels dot com or similar).

[Danish viking]

There are plenty of tickets available from FIFA now (if you just want a random game for a FAN ID).

 

 

Yes they released 100.000 tickets a few days ago.

[Coral]

I've stayed in hotels in both St. Petersburg and Moscow - both are perfectly safe and the prices are more reasonable than in other European cities. Look for something that includes breakfast in the city center (check Booking dot com, Hotels dot com or similar).

 

I went in 2007 or 2008 and they were record high then! Moscow was the most expensive city in Europe then. I looked last year and they were dirt cheap.

 

The benefit of hotels is they are close to the action. The ship docks far away.

[Coral]

Yes they released 100.000 tickets a few days ago.

 

That explains it. It was sold out when I looked a month ago.

[tugtraveller]

Don't the hotels have to check that you have a valid passport & russian visa?

[dogs4fun]

Don't the hotels have to check that you have a valid passport & russian visa?

Yes, they do. The hotel is required to register all foreign visa and migration cards within a day. Upon check-out from the hotel, you will receive a document that you show to immigration when you exit Russia (Russian immigration only requires this document when your stay is 7 or more business days - it would not apply to cruise passengers).

[Highland Rovers]

Just got off the NCL Breakaway. You will need to show your tour ticket or visa each time you get off the boat. Our guide with TJ barely left our side for the bathrooms. They are NOT allowed to leave you. Funny that they have been told it’s the same in the US! Can you just imagine?

 

Hi there, firstly, hope you had a fabulous cruise. We are on the same one in 4 weeks time woo woo! I have read on another thread that you need to book a 'spot' to get off the ship in St Petersburg, and are allocated A, B or C. Is this correct, and if so, how and when do you book your spot? I assumed we would just walk off at our leisure. TIA.